Define 'Proper'
by AlwaysWaitingFor
Summary: ReaderXGermany. Living as the granddaughter of a prominent business man of the country certainly isn't easy, especially when you aren't really high society material in the first place. So what's an outspoken, strong willed girl supposed to do when she's forced into a situation where women are seen, not heard, and men hold all the best cards in the game? Turn the tables, that's what
1. Chapter 1

Define 'Proper'

GermanyXReader Fic

"This is…."

"Yes, my Lady?"

"This is…is…"

"What is it, my Lady?"

"It's…."

The maid sighed in exasperation. "My Lady, please, I would very much like to know what 'it' is.

"It? Lilith, 'it' is the bane of my existence, 'it' is the top thing on my list of annoyances. 'It' is absolutely…TERRIBLE!" You whined as you slouched over while staring at yourself in the mirror.

Today your grandfather had the most _"splendid idea"_ of going to town for no apparent reason what-so-ever, and he insisted that you look presentable.

Of course, you had protested. There was nothing wrong with wearing a simple blouse tucked into your (f/c) skirt and some knee-high boots.

But, _no….._no, you simply _had_ to wear a crisp, new gown for your outing. And, wouldn't you know? A new dress had just _suddenly_ arrived yesterday! What a coincidence!

Not.

Your grandfather insisted that such a gown simply could _not_ be unpacked and instantly thrown into a closet to await a party or some other formal event. It must be worn immediately and shown to the world! You suspected he had ulterior motives as soon as the dress had arrived, seeing as you would _never_ order such a thing. You weren't into all the flamboyance and frippery of higher living, and hated gaudy things and formal attire. But your grandfather was persistent on the matter.

And thus, here you are, looking at this strange girl you do not recognize in the mirror with a look of utter horror on her face that matches your own. In your opinion, not that anyone else cared, you look simply awful. The dress, the horrid thing, was made of (f/c) satin that crinkled softly anytime you moved, while lace trimmed the edges of the collar, sleeves, and hem of the skirt. A large, satin, bow graced the lower back of the gown, while the bodice buttoned up the front with little pearls. A corset was bound to your body mercilessly under the gown.

"You have to wear it!" Lilith had cried out in horror when you flatly refused. "What kind of lady doesn't wear a corset with their gown! Honestly, sometimes I find it hard to believe you were raised in higher society..." She had scoffed in utter bewilderment at you. You thought the very idea of making your waist smaller and your chest bustier at the cost of much needed oxygen and blood circulation was absurd. You were not interested in attracting any unwanted attention from men, which you knew was the purpose for such a torturous device in the first place. It had taken Lilith the better part of a half hour to convince you to wear the thing and get it tied securely around your waist, with you yelping and whining the whole way through about how tight it was.

Your (h/c) hair was curled into sleek, shiny ringlets, the top layer being pulled back with a bow, leaving two pristine curls framing your countenance. Your face had been powdered, blushed, painted, primped, and any other manner of thing done to it to give you the look of "a fine upstanding lady of society". Your lips were glossed, making them appear plump, shiny and moist, while your nails had been buffed and shined. You were prepared for this outing as if you were going to meet a duke, or some other person of prominence! It was _supposedly_ just a small walk around town, and then lunch! Why the need for all this finery!

All in all though, you actually did look quite lovely with the entire ensemble put together, and any one would have stopped and gazed at you as if you were some exotic creature from a far off land. And you had to agree, you did look very exotic. Exotic enough to look like a peacock!

"This entire oufit is simply horrid!" You cried with exasperation. "I look like some…some…some enchanted wild bird from Wonderland!" You shot Lilith a flustered look, with your hands clenched tightly into fists at your sides. She sighed, "My Lady, you look absolutely enchanting. Any girl for miles would wish they were you if they could see you right now. I honestly cannot understand why you dislike the look so much."

"Because it isn't _me!_" You cried. You did _not_ want to have the other town girls jealous of you. You did _not_ want men gawking at you from every corner. And you most certainly did _not_ want to go out in public like this! This wasn't you! You weren't some princess going to meet a prince! The fact that you came from a prominent family did not mean you were born with a natural love for refinement, elegance, and wealth. No, you would rather garden or ride horses or do other "boyish" sorts of things than spend hours entertaining parties and holding luncheons for the other ladies of the county, like a proper young lady should. Let's face it; you aren't high society material, and you are completely OK with that!

But, as fate would have it, you were born into a family of prominence, and you were going to be subject to all the so-called "perks" of privileged living; like going to town for no apparent reason, for example.

"_! Are you almost ready, dear?" Your grandfather eagerly called from the hallway. "Almost, grandfather! I'll be out momentarily!" you answered with feigned cheer. You sighed, resigned to your fate. _Let's get this over with_, you thought miserably as you headed to the door. "My Lady, wait!" Lilith called to you before you could leave the room. "Yes? What is it?" you asked somberly. "Let me fix your bow one more time." Lilith stated, beckoning you over to her once more. *sigh* "Very well." You walked to the chair and sat down again, while Lilith busied herself with fixing the bow in your hair. "_, please don't be so miserable. Your grandfather only wants you to be happy, and he knows how upset you are that you were cooped up in the house for three days."

A surprise storm had recently passed through your town, leaving nothing but muck and water behind in its wake. You were obviously confined to the house, making you more miserable than ever.

"I know, I know, Lilith. I just wish he would ask me what I wanted to do instead of just planning out random things." You stated, standing as Lilith removed her hands from your hair. Turning to her, she placed her hands on your shoulders. "Be strong, _. Something's going to change for you. I just know it." She smiled and released you, sending you on your way.

-Le time skip to you arriving in town (Ludwig's coming up don't worry)-

"We've arrived, _. Isn't this exciting? I can't remember the last time we went to town together!" Your grandfather looked out the carriage window with the excitement of a toddler. _Oh, grandfather…._ A small smile played on your lips. Your grandfather had this way about him that made every experience seem new and exciting, even if he'd done something many times before. This trip to town was no different, or so you thought.

Lightly stepping down from the carriage after it had stopped, you took a moment to eagerly take in your surroundings. _It really has been quite a while since I've been to town….It still looks the same though…._ You pondered as your grandfather slowly made his way out of the carriage. The town was bustling with activity; people were shopping, children were running around playing with balls and hoops, while carriages with horses went clip-clopping up and down the road. The sky was clear and the air smelled of baked goods from a bakery down the street. "Grandfather," you asked as he walked to your side, "what all are you planning to do today? I would assume we're doing more than just going to lunch with how you've had me made up today." "What," he chuckled at your question, "Can't an old man walk around the down and show off his beautiful granddaughter for the day?" You giggled at his compliment, knowing he wouldn't tell you what he was up to until the last second. Taking your grandfather's outstretched hand, you started off, looking through the shops and other small attractions.

The better part of your day was spent walking around the town square where most of the shops were located. Your grandfather had bought you a new perfume, one of the few luxuries you actually enjoyed, which smelled of honeysuckle, and then he took you to a small restaurant to eat lunch. While you were there, a small group of people entered. They caught your eye immediately since they didn't look like the common townsfolk.

The first to enter was a man, around your grandfather's age, with wide set shoulders and strong build. In his youth this man would have been force not to be reckoned with simply due to his size, and he still retained that air of supremacy into his later life. His clothes gave him away as someone important, or at least someone with a great deal of money behind them; custom tailored suite, silk tie, and a clearly expensive gold pocket watch that he had out to check the time.

Next was a boy, not quite a man yet but close to it, with pale skin, a shock of white hair, and striking red eyes. You tried not to raise an eyebrow at this. You assumed he was albino due to his complexion, making him an anomaly that you didn't often see. His clothing was similar in value to the older man with him. You were unsure as to their relation, however, as this man was lankier than the other; less muscle, more visible structure and form to him. He would have been strikingly handsome if it weren't for the intensely arrogant look that graced his features, which distorted his looks and made him seem somewhat unapproachable.

The one who truly caught your attention, however, was the third man to walk in. You made sure to avoid eye contact so as not to appear to be staring, though it was hard not to. Tall build, wide shoulders as with the other man, but not quite so bulky. His youth made him less stocky and more formed, which was accented by his own custom tailored suite. Though his stature was impressive, what truly drew the eye was his face. Not quite as pale as the albino, but certainly not tan, with a well-defined nose, and a strong, firmly set jaw that gave him a look of almost constant displeasure, as if he never smiled. His eyes were a striking, icy blue that could freeze one's thoughts if he looked at you dead-on. Their expression was as cold as their color, serious and completely focused on the business at hand. His platinum blonde hair was slicked back on his head, with only a strand or two falling over his forehead. If anyone else had been looking at him, they would have instantly been seized with fear.

But not you. To you this man looked just like every other spoiled rich boy from a business family. They were always the same; cold and uncaring, only truly interested in what could give them the most gain. They were groomed from childhood to be prim and proper entrepreneurs whose primary goal was to enhance business. In short, they had little time for friends, leaving them cold, aloof adults who didn't really know how to handle most social situations, and the few people they could call "friends" were simply close business partners with whom they had made good deals with in the past. Your brow furrowed slightly with irritation as you looked away from the group and resumed eating your food.

Then you stopped, your eyes growing wide.

Oh my God what if those people were here to see Grandfather? There weren't many explanations as to why such people would come to the town unless they were here to meet her grandfather, since he conducted most of his business here. Was this why your grandfather wanted you to look so nice today? To give these people a good impression of his family? As these thoughts raced through your head, you noticed the older man in the group glance over to your table. _Oh God, please don't call my Grandfather, please don't call my Grandfather, please don't call my Grandfather…_

"Leo! How good it is to see you, my friend!" the man called over.

_Crap._


	2. Chapter 2

Define 'Proper'

GermanyXReader Fic

_As these thoughts raced through your head, you noticed the older man in the group glance over to your table. Oh God, please don't call my Grandfather, please don't call my Grandfather, please don't call my Grandfather…"Leo! How good it is to see you, my friend!" the man called over. Crap._

* * *

Hearing his name, your grandfather turned in his chair, a smile growing on his face. "Victor! Ah ha! You did make it! I thought you wouldn't be able to come with the storm that hit us coming your way!" Your grandfather stood up and began walking over to the trio. You looked up at him with trace amounts of panic on your features. You were caught completely off guard by the situation, and you were at a loss on what to do. It also didn't help that your grandfather usually kept business matters between him and his clients or partners, leaving you with little to no experience when it came to socializing with them. The most you had ever done was introduce yourself, and then you were dismissed, though you usually sat outside your grandfather's study to listen in on conversations. You had suspected that your grandfather was up to something today, but you weren't prepared for this! Sneaky jerk! You'd have to give him a stern talking to when you returned home.

You were actually more unnerved that you were probably going to have to talk to these people yourself, instead of sitting there and eating quietly, blending in like a table ornament. For once you would have gladly played the role of the shy, obedient granddaughter just to avoid any conversation. _Come on _, it's not a big deal. They're here to talk to grandfather, not you. They probably haven't even noticed you….._ This thought was quickly banished, however, when you remembered how you were dressed today. They would have to be blind not to see you. _Curses! Grandfather dressed me like this so I _would _be noticed! Agh! I knew this was a bad idea!_

As your grandfather brought the trio over, you tried to remember how you were supposed to act when eating with company. Should you be outgoing and cheery? Or quiet and subdued? Either way they might think there was something wrong with you, which wouldn't end well. You didn't have a lot of time to think about this however, because everyone was suddenly standing by the table while your grandfather called for a few more chairs. _Oh God we're eating lunch with them! So much for them just popping in to say 'hello'._ Your grandfather turned to you and began to introduce the others.

"_, my dear, this is Victor Beilschmidt. He's an old friend of mine who I asked to stop by for a little while. I hope you don't mind them joining us for lunch." Your grandfather said with a cheery voice. His extreme cheer at this man's arrival could mean one for two things; this man was an excellent business partner, or a legitimate old friend from your grandfather's youth.

"Guten Tag, Fräulein. It is a pleasure to meet you." Victor greeted you warmly, much to your surprise. His heavy German accent made it a little hard to understand him, but understood most of what he was saying. "G-good afternoon to you, sir. And the pleasure is mine." You answered shakily, still a bit stunned at what was going on. You at least had the grace to stand and give a slight bow of respect (and thank God your chair didn't fall over!) and hoped that Victor hadn't noticed the slight nervousness in your voice. Taking a quick glance upward you saw a jovial smile on the old man's face, and you sighed inwardly with relief. _This man, he doesn't seem too bad. Maybe he _is_ just an old friend of grandfather's….._ You thought hopefully. Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad lunch after all.

But of course, you still had to be introduced to the other two men that had arrived with Victor. "Aha! Your enkelin has very good manners. I see zhat she haz been raised vell!" Victor laughed and gave your grandfather a friendly pat on the back. "Yes, she is quite the charmer." Your grandfather replied, causing you to blush a little."Victor, are you going to introduce the two people you brought along today?" "Ah, but of course!" Victor exclaimed, "I haven't introduced meine Söhne yet!" Victor said, turning to the two men behind him_. _Confused by Victor's foreign words, you looked to your grandfather for help. He leaned over and whispered in your ear, "Meine Söhne means 'my sons' in English, my dear." You nodded, understanding now…_ Wait, his _sons_? He must be grandfather's age! How old are those two? They can't be much older than I am!_ You thought while turning your attention towards the others.

Victor put a strong hand on the albino man's shoulder, stating, "Zhis is miene oldest, Gilbert! Sagen hallo, mein Sohn." Victor spoke to Gilbert in German, and you hoped he understood English, otherwise you might have trouble introducing yourself. Gilbert stepped up to you, a smirk on his face. You instinctively wanted to take a step backwards, but resisted the urge and met his gaze. "Guten Tag, frau. I am zhe avesome Gilbert! I'm sure you're honored to meet me!" He stated, bending towards you a bit. He was a taller than you, and had to bend down a little to be at your eye level. _He's….what? Did he just call himself 'awesome'? What kind of man calls themselves awesome to someone they've just met! _You thought indignantly. Some people just didn't think when they spoke. You managed to keep a calm composure as you smiled politely and bowed slightly to Gilbert. "Yes, I'm quite honored to make your acquaintance, sir." He smirked at your response. "Kesesesese~ A frau vith respect! I like zhat!" He said with a cocky grin on his face as he took a seat at the table. _Keep your head cool….keep your head cool _._ You fought to control your overwhelming desire to spill water over this man's head and storm out of the restaurant. The nerve of him! Honestly, was he raised in a barn, or something?

Trying to control the expression on your face, you looked up as the other man, the taller one with blonde hair, walked up and took Gilbert's place beside Victor. "Und zhis eine here is Ludvig. He's Gilbert's younger bruder, though you vouldn't know it by looking at zhem." Victor chuckled while Ludwig stayed silent and impassive by his side. Victor was right. Until he told you otherwise, you had assumed that Ludwig was the older of the two. It shocked you a little to think that this man in front of you could possibly be younger than the one at the table. _Great, _you thought, _if the older one acts that childish, the younger one must be terrible!_ It really wasn't helping either that you were already annoyed by this man's very presence. Silently praying that Ludwig had a little more decency and wasn't as bad as you were making him out to be, you turn and introduced yourself. "Hello, Ludwig. I'm very pleased to meet you. My name is _." You stated with a small bow. You were taken off guard when Ludwig spoke. "Nien," he said, he deep voice sounding oddly out of place in the cheery restaurant atmosphere, "zhe pleasure is miene, frau." He said.

And then he did something very surprising. He carefully reached out and took your arm, bent down, a placed a small kiss on the back of your hand.

Oh, if you didn't have so much make-up on you would have visibly blushed ten different shades of red.

Ludwig's introduction was a far cry from Gilberts. Gilberts was uncouth, completely frank, and very unsettling, to say the least. Ludwig's on the other hand, was formal, refined, and dignified. The only real downside was the fact that Ludwig had not smiled the entire time, which took some of the charm from his greeting away. He retained his blank façade after releasing your hand and stood straight again, as if he wasn't affected in the least by his actions. Of course, you, being so completely unprepared for the whole thing in the first place, did not notice when Ludwig let go of your hand, and you were standing there with your hand out for a few more seconds, before you hastily retracted it back and clasped it with the other hand at your waist, staring at the floor bashfully. _I look like an absolute idiot! Get a hold of yourself!_ You mentally berated yourself and quickly regained your composure. Smiling at Ludwig, you waited until he and Victor had taken their seats before sitting down as well.

-Le time skip ~laaaa~-

Lunch itself wasn't all that bad, to be honest. You didn't really know what your grandfather and Victor were talking about, so all you really did was sit and eat, waiting to see when the older gentlemen would be done talking. You really wanted to go home as soon as possible. It was very uncomfortable with Gilbert constantly shooting sly glances your way, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to focus on anything, including your food. Not only that, but you weren't feeling very well, and you were starting to develop a headache. _Ugh…..Please hurry, Grandfather…._ Your headache was starting to get worse, and your vision was suddenly blurring. _Maybe it's the heat?_ You wondered as you put your fork down. Suddenly the salad you were eating wasn't quite as appetizing as it had been, and you were afraid to eat anymore. You jumped a little in surprise when Gilbert suddenly spoke up. "Hey frau, you face iz getting redder und redder by zhe minute. I vonder vhy. Maybe miene avesomness iz too much for you? Kesesesesese~" Gilbert snickered, looking at your increasingly flushed face.

Now just how were you supposed to respond to that? Normally you would have started berating Gilbert on the audacity of his comment, but you didn't want to appear rude in front of your grandfather's friend, and you didn't want to insult Gilbert in front of everyone (which you most certainly would have done if you weren't in public). Your head was getting fuzzy all of a sudden, though, and you couldn't think of a proper response, and a garbled mess of words ended up coming from your mouth. "N-no….it isn't…I…..it's very hot and….uh….ooooo…." Suddenly you felt very faint, and you couldn't think of any possible explain-

Oh. Of course. Why hadn't the thought occurred to you before? Headache, blurry vision, light-headedness….it all pointed to one thing; you weren't getting enough oxygen to your brain. Which of course, was that damn corset's fault entirely….. _I knew I shouldn't have worn that thing…darn you, Lilith…._

"_, are you alright my dear? What's wrong?" Your grandfather was looking at you anxiously. Victor was also looking at you with a worried expression on his features. Even Gilbert had suddenly gotten very serious; he may be a bit childish, but Gilbert knew when and when not to goof around. And now was one of those times where he had to remain serious. "Hey, frau, are you alvight? Do you have a fever?" Gilbert carefully put his hand on your forehead, and you were too far into a daze to move away. You grandfather and Victor had left their seats and were hovering around your chair, trying to discern just what was wrong with you. The only person who had not reacted was Ludwig.

That's not to say, of course, that he was ignoring your situation; as soon as Gilbert had made the comment about your face being flushed, he had stopped eating to see what Gilbert was talking about. He was staring at you now, and his impassive expression hid the fact that he was thinking hard as to what was wrong with you as well. Not that he was worried. He didn't even know you, and it wouldn't have mattered if he did. Ludwig wasn't very close to people; he had few friends and was terrible in social situations that didn't involve business or some sort of set, concrete goal, so it was difficult for him to feel concern for you. However, this situation was something he could deal with. The goal was simply to find out what was wrong with you, and fix it. After thinking for a few more moments, Ludwig spoke up. "You all may vant to move avay from her." He stated frankly. The three men hovering around you turned their heads in his direction. "Was? Come on, Vest, ve have to figure out vhat's vrong with her. How are ve going to do zhat from far avay? I don't zink she's contagious. She just looks like she has a fever." Gilbert pointed out, pouting slightly. "I know she's not contagious. But you all need to give her some air space. She's having a hard enough time breathing as it is." Hearing this, the three slowly moved away from you, giving you some space.

By now you were having trouble hearing things and you couldn't quite make out what Ludwig had said, and his heavy accent wasn't helping. Ludwig stood up and walked over to you, but still gave you some space to breathe. "Frau, are you vearing a corset under your gown?" He asked, unbothered by the familiar nature of the question. "Voah! Vest, come on, you can't just ask a frau zhat in public! You're a man, you shouldn't even be asking her zhat kind of question in zhe first place!" Gilbert exclaimed, shocked at Ludwig's question. Glancing slightly at Gilbert, Ludwig retorted, "If Vater vasn't here, you'd be asking far more intrusive questions, und you know it, bruder." "Was? Zhat is such an un-avesome zhing to say, bruder ..." Gilbert crossed his arms over his chest and looked at the ground, scowling. Ludwig was right and he knew it, and there was no point in continuing an argument he would not win.

The faintest traces of a smile tugged at the corners of Ludwig's mouth for a moment, but it was gone almost instantly, he mouth setting back into the firm line it had been in before. "Now zhen, back to you, frau. Can you ansver miene question?" _What? Oh wait, he asked me if I'm wearing a corset, right? I think that's what he said…._ You were so dazed right now and you couldn't be sure. "I-I'm sorry, sir, I can't h-hear you properly..." you weazed slightly, trying to get more oxygen into your system. Ludwig gave a small sigh. "I said.." he started speaking again.

Suddenly, Ludwig's icy blue eyes were several inches closer to your face, and if you weren't having such a hard time breathing you would have gasped at his suddenly proximity to you. He spoke a little louder and more distinctly, "are you vearing a _corset_ under your gown?" That time you heard him. Some part of your mind registered that his question was far too personal and that he shouldn't be asking you that, but you really didn't care about formalities at this point. "Y-yes…I am..." You managed to say without too much difficulty. _God, I need to get this thing off me! _You thought desperately. But just how were you supposed to do that in a restaurant full of people who were now staring at your table curiously, wonder what was going on? "Vell, frau, it seems ve have a problem zhen, don't ve?" Ludwig stated without any trace of concern in his voice. _You don't even care that I'm about to pass out_, you though indignantly at him, _so why are you even bothering to try and help me?_

Suddenly, without any warning at all, you were swept up in Ludwig's arms and he turned to your grandfather. "Sir, ve need to take her back to your home. She's going to pass out und ve need to get her out of zhat corset she's vearing."

_W-wait! What are you doing! Put me down this instant, you brute! Agh, put me down! If you think for one minute I'm going to let you undress me you have another thing coming!_ However, you could only scream these thoughts in your head because you had suddenly lost the energy to form proper words. What was wrong with these two! One of them had absolutely no manners when speaking, and the other had no sense of proper behavior in a social situation! No amount of gentlemanly introductions would change that fact! But in your current state, you were completely at the mercy of the men around you, and could do nothing to protest Ludwig's suggestion.

Your grandfather was a bit shocked by what Ludwig had said, though he was more shocked that he had so suddenly whisked you into his arms as if you were nothing more than a pillow. Thankfully, Victor stepped in and took action. "Gilbert, go outside und get the carriage out front. " Gilbert nodded and headed swiftly to the door. "Leo," Victor turned and put a heavy hand on your grandfather's shoulder to bring him out of his daze, "ve need to get your enkelin back to your house so she can rest. We can continue our business there if you vish." "What?" your grandfather suddenly spoke with alarm as the reality of the situation finally set in, "Oh! Oh why yes of course! Young man," he stated as he turned to Ludwig," Could you please take my granddaughter out to the carriage? You'll have to start off without me….."

You were losing consciousness now, you could tell. Everything was fading to black and you couldn't hear the rest of what your grandfather said. The last thing you heard was Gilbert yelling at the restaurant door, something about a carriage arriving….


	3. Chapter 3

Define 'Proper'

A GermanyXReader Fic

_You were losing consciousness now, you could tell. Everything was fading to black and you couldn't hear the rest of what your grandfather said. The last thing you heard was Gilbert yelling at the restaurant door, something __about__a__carriage __arriving…._

"…._..._! What…ened!"

…_..Li….Lilith? No, it can't be her….grandpa and I were out having lunch….right? I don't think she came with us….._

Thoughts drifted through your mind like boats in the sea as you slowly began to regain your senses. You're head felt very strange, as if someone has taken the clouds from the sky and forced them into your skull. Everything was hazy and seemed far away, as if you were under water, or wrapped in many layers of fabric. You thought you could make out the voice of your maid, Lilith, but you weren't very sure of that; everything was fading in and out, and you couldn't make heads or tails of anything that was going on around you. Another voice spoke up, but it sounded out of place in contrast to the possible voice of your maid.

"Hey, Vati! Ich…..gehen, um zu s…..n Ludwig brau…ilfe. Warum nimmst du …hen Großvater irge….?"

_What…are they saying? That didn't make any sense at all….was that even English?_

You desperately wanted to know what was going on around you, but your mind decided that now was a perfect time to stop functioning, and you blacked out again, falling into a deep, restless sleep.

-Le time skip of about an hour-

…_.Ugh….wha…what? What happened? Where did everybody go? _You couldn't hear the voices from earlier anymore, so you assumed they had left you alone somewhere. You knew you were in a house, however, because you could feel the plush, cushy mattress and pillows you were laying on, as well as the silky fabric of the sheet that was covering your body.

_I don't understand…why am I here? I thought we were at lunch. Or was that just a dream? I'm not su—AGH!_

Your head was beginning to clear up, but with the absence of the fog a sharp, searing pain began stabbing at your head like a dagger. You groaned as the pain got worse, pulsating through your skull as if someone had shoved a second heart into your head and there wasn't enough room for it and your brain. Suddenly, a sharp, excited voice piped up, sending another wave of pain through your head.

"Hey! Hey you, maid! I zhink she's coming to!"

"Gilbert, pardon my rudeness but please, quiet down! And I told you, my name is _Lilith_. Not _maid_."

"Miene apologies, _Lilith._ I'm just trying to tell you zhat zhe frau is vaking up. Sheesh!"

So your grandpa's German friends from lunch were still here. Great. Just what you needed after waking up from a corset induced fainting.

_Well that throws the dream idea right out the window…..wait…if I'm waking up, that must mean someone took my corset off…but who? There's no way Lilith would have been strong enough to untie those ungodly knots she made in those ribbons by herself. And grandpa's hands shake too much for him to have done it. He would have been too embarrassed to remove the corset anyway….maybe another maid helped Lilith? Or maybe…._

Your eyes snapped open in alarm, and you let out a gasp as you hastily sat up and grabbed whatever fabric was around you to cover yourself up.

_Oh my God! If that man from lunch had ANYTHING to do with this I swear I'm going to-_

But your thought was cut short when a small force hurled itself into you and a pair of arms quickly encircled your body, tightening into a very constricting hug.

"Oh thank goodness you're awake, _! I was so worried when I saw you had fainted! I thought you had gotten sick!" A very emotional, flustered Lilith was clinging to you for dear life, afraid that if she let you go you would fall into a semi-comatose state once more. You two were best friends. If anything had happened to you, Lilith wouldn't know what to do with herself. And of course, you were glad that Lilith was so worried about you. It always felt nice to know that someone close to you cared for your safety. But right now, Lilith's ever tightening embrace was making it hard for you to breathe once again. "Lilith…! Can't breathe….need air!" You gasped, trying to wiggle free from Lilith's strong hold on you. "Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry, _!" she exclaimed, quickly releasing you and allowing your lungs to fill with air again. "I'm just so relieved that you're awake again! You don't know how worried I was when they came rushing into the manor and started yelling for scissors or knives, anything that could cut fabric! I didn't know what was going on, and then some man came charging up the stairs like a freight train with you in his arms! He was carrying you like a baby, and you were limp as a rag doll! I thought you had gotten terribly injured in some accident! And my goodness, you were so pale and clammy to the touch that for one horrible moment I thought you were DEAD! Thank the Lord you had only fainted! " Lilith gushed, trying to get as much information in as possible to show you just how worried she had been.

"Lilith, calm down! I'm alright, really! It was just that godforsaken corset I had on, that's all. I told you it was a horrible idea to wear the wretched thing!" You growled the last part of your sentence, emphasizing your extreme disdain for said article of clothing.

"Voah, frau. I didn't know you had such a colorful vocabulary. Kesesesese~" Your eyes opened wider at the sound of another voice in the room, and you began frantically looking around to see who had spoken. "Over here, frau." The voice was coming from a shaded part of the room, and you watched as a figured stepped into the light, his trademark grin plastered on his face.

"You! You're one of those people that came and ate lunch with us!" You exclaimed, searching your memory for a name to go with the man's annoying expression and pale features. "Gilbert, wasn't it?" You asked, hoping that you were talking to the right person.

"Der einzige! Und it's zhe _avesome _Gilbert, to you, frau. Kesesesese~" You're brow furrowed in annoyance. Gilbert's answer further showcased his impressive ego and lack of concern for you, even though you had just been through a stressful ordeal. He could have at least given you the courtesy to ask how you were feeling. Seriously, just who did this guy think he was? "Oh, _of course_. My mistake, oh Awesome One." You retorted, sarcasm and disdain dripping from your words. Gilbert's expression changed from one of stubborn arrogance to irritation. "Tch, typical. Zhe mädchen of zhis country don't know how to show proper respect tovards men. I guess how you vere behaving during lunch vas just an act zhen, huh?" Gilbert said, taking a few steps closer to where you were sitting. "At least I know how to act when I'm introduced to new people." You fired back, further irritated by Gilberts observation, even if it was true. "You, however, clearly don't have an ounce of sense when it comes to manners and proper etiquette." Though you may not be one for formal attire and fabulous parties, your grandfather had raised you to be a polite, somewhat dignified young lady. No matter a person's social standing, there were certain rules to the art of conversation that did not allow for Gilbert's commentary, and you were quick to point this out to him, now that neither your grandfather nor his father were present. Lilith, however, having not yet heard about the events that had occurred during lunch, did not understand and, therefore, did not approve of the tone you were addressing Gilbert with.

"My Lady! I'm sorry but you simply cannot speak to Gilbert in such a fashion! This man is very important where he comes from, and you really should be trying to give him a good impression!" Turning towards Gilbert, Lilith bowed slightly, saying, "Please, forgive my mistress, sir. She's gone through a bit of a stressful ordeal, and I'm sure she just isn't feeling well. I apologize for any rudeness she may have presented you with." In this state, Lilith was by far the picture perfect servant, appealing in every way to Gilbert's better nature. Gilbert expression softened a bit at Lilith apology. Now here was a girl with proper respect! _Man, if all zhe mädchen back home vere like zhis frau here, I vould probably be married by now, und Vater vouldn't constantly be riding mien ass about finding a m__ä__del und getting married._ Gilbert liked this girl, even if she was a housemaid, which also helped to erase his annoyance at you. He visibly relaxed, appeased by the apology. "Ja, you're probably right, frau. Stress is hard for some frauen to handle. It's no big deal, so I'll let it slide just zhis once, okay?" Gilbert cocked his head and winked, flashing a cheeky grin at you as he left the room.

_Damn it all, Lilith!_ You thought, sighing at Gilbert's childishness. Though Lilith had just saved you from humiliating your grandfather and getting yourself in trouble, you were now forced to give up the verbal fight with Gilbert and let him win. And you did _not_ like letting other people win, especially men like Gilbert. But there was nothing to do about it now. You sighed, exasperated by the whole ordeal.

"Lilith." You groaned, clearly unhappy, "please, tell me what happened from the time I got home up to now." You also hated being in the dark about things, and any information on the past hour or so's events would make you feel ten times better than you did now.

"Oh? Why of course, _. You really did miss out on all the excitement, what, with you being passed out and all." Lilith giggled, prepared to relay the series of events you'd caused when you'd fainted in the restaurant.

-Lilith's flashback of epic proportions! *SHOT* (Seriously it's really long -_-)

Liliths POV

"A-a-_achooo!_" *sniff* "I swear...of all the chores I'm saddled with in this home," *sniff* "dusting has got to be the most dreadful." Lilith moaned as she wiped her nose with a handkerchief. Currently dusting the mantle in your grandfather's study, Lilith had just inhaled a small cloud of dust that was severely irritating her allergies. "_Achoo! A-a-a-choo!" _*sniff* "This is absolutely ridiculous. _ and The Master" *sniff* " are out having a wonderful time in town, eating lunch and enjoying the weather, while here I am; stuck inside, dusting my life away, about to sneeze my brains out! I can't take much more of this!" She wailed, sinking to her knees and acting very much like a prima Dona. If only she had been born into a higher class family, she would probably be in Paris right now, having the time of her life, taking dance lessons, wearing gorgeous clothes, going to lavish parties where she _wasn't_ just serving the food and standing around like a light fixture... "_Lilith, really, the life of the wealthy isn't all it's cracked up to be." __ had told her time and time again. But still, a girl can dream, can't she?

Sighing, Lilith picked herself up from the floor and retrieved her duster, which she had let clatter to the ground when she'd begun sneezing uncontrollably. _That's it. _She thought as another sneeze jarred her body,_ I can't clean this room anymore; there is just simply too much dust in here. Maybe I can ask one of the other maids to do this room for me... _Of course, the reason there was so much dust was because every time Lilith had come to clean it, she would only get halfway through dusting the room before she would go into a sneezing fit and have to leave before she could finish.

As she trudged miserably out of the study, Lilith grazed longingly out of the ceiling high windows that lined the hallway connecting the study to the entry way of the house. _If only I had been placed on gardening duty…_ she thought as she reached the end of the hall and opened the door leading to the grand staircase of the home. No sooner had Lilith begun to descend the steps to head towards the maids' chambers, when she suddenly heard the hasty clattering of a carriage being pulled abruptly into the court yard of your home.

_Huh? It's only half past noon. _Lilith thought, glancing at the Great Grand Father Clock in the entry way. _What on earth could have possessed _ and The Master to return home so early? We weren't expecting them back until at least 3 on the clock…._

Then, without warning, the double doors leading into the mansion suddenly burst open, and several people came running into the house like a frantic pack of wild dogs.

"Take her upstairs and go up the right stairwell! There are several empty rooms up there; one of them will have something we can set her down on!" The panicked voice of your grandfather rang out in the open entryway of the house, and Lilith's eyes flickered over to where he was standing, gasping slightly from the excitement going on around him. _Master? Wait, what does he mean 'take her upstairs"? What is going on!_ Lilith's mind was suddenly going in every direction, imaging the most extreme of scenarios that could have put your grandfather into such an agitated state. One of the others who had entered the house, a very tall, hulking form of a man, placed a pair of large hands on your grandfather's shoulders, attempting to calm him down. "Be calm, Gerald, be calm. She vill be alright, you'll see. She has only passed out, nozhing more. Please, you must calm yourself! Zhis stress is not guht for your heart, mien friend!" The man's deep voice and strange accent were foreign to Lilith, and she could not understand what on _earth_ this man and the others were doing here with your grandfather. And where were you? "M-master? What is happen-Aiiee!" Lilith screamed, throwing herself against the banister of the stairwell in an effort to avoid another man who was suddenly flying up the stairs, carrying someone in his arms. "_Move!_" He growled, clearly irritated that Lilith was in his way. He was so much bigger than Lilith that he probably would have barreled her over if she hadn't made a mad dive out of the way. He didn't slow down as he reached the top of the main stairwell and swerved to the right, charging up the next flight of stairs three at a time.

Lilith sunk to her knees, shaking and clinging to the railing of the stairwell in fear. The sharp, piercing blue eyes and harsh demeanor of the man who had just run upstairs had startled her greatly, and she grasped the stair railing for support with her other hand clutching at her chest, attempting to slow her frantically beating heart. _W-who _was _that man! And who was he carrying? Where on earth is _!_ Now Lilith was more panicked than ever. There were strange people in her house, her master was clearly not stable at the moment, and to top it all off, she had no idea where you were! Could things get any worse?

Apparently, they could. Almost as soon as the other man had rushed past her, another voice, this one a higher pitch than the other men's voices, called out, shouting, "Hey! Vatch vere you're going Vest! You almost ran zhat frau into the stairs, you dumkomph!" Someone was coming up the stairs and stopped in front of where Lilith was sitting. They crouched down and asked in a slightly concerned voice, "Hey, frau. Are you alvright?" Glancing upward warily, Lilith's field of view was suddenly filled with pale features, feathery gray hair, and a pair of gleaming, dark red eyes. Already frightened by the first man who had come at her, Lilith's terrorized mind immediately went into overdrive and registered this man's features with that of a monster her mother had told her about as a child: a vampire.

With a shriek, Lilith tried to scramble away from the man on the stairs, but failed miserably as the heel of her shoe caught on the carpet and pulled her back down onto the steps. She brought her arms up in front of herself in an attempt to shield herself from what she though was a bloodthirsty demon, come to eat her alive.

The "vampire" on the steps blinked at Lilith, his brow furrowing in confusion and slight annoyance at Lilith's reaction towards him. "Hey, vhat's vith you? I'm not going to hurt you frau, I just vanted to see if you're ok. Und clearly you're not. Jeez you look like a scared little sheep or somzhing." The man said standing up and coming up the stairs towards Lilith again. "Look, I know I may look a little strange, vhat vith being albino und all, but you screaming in mien face und backing avay is a bit insulting. Mien name is Gilbert Beilschmidt, by zhe vay. Now stand up; you look ridiculous sitting zhere on your arse like zhat. Kesesesesesese!" The man smirked, holding his hand out to help Lilith up. Taking a closer look at the man, Lilith realized that he didn't have fangs or other demonic features, making her previous thought about him being a vampire invalid. Slightly comforted by this, Lilith shakily took Gilbert's hand and he helped her to her feet.

"Sir, if I may, w-what is going on? What are you and the others doing here with my Master? A-and, not to be a bother, but, where is My Lady?" Concern laced Lilith's last question, her fear now directed towards the fact that she still did not know where you were. "Jeez, so formal, frau. Judging by your uniform, I'm guessing you're one of zhe maids around here, right? Hmph. Zhe outfit suites you. Kesesese~!" Gilbert smirked at the blush that spread across Lilith's face at his comment. "Anyvay, to ansver your _many_ questions, me, mien vater, und mien bruder are all here vith your Master because his enkelin fainted at lunch, und ve needed to get her home. I'm assuming your Lady is the enkelin. She's who mien bruder just ran upstairs vith." Answering Lilith, Gilbert released her hand and turned towards the two men at the bottom of the stairs. "Hey, Vati! Ich bin nach oben gehen, um zu sehen, wenn Ludwig braucht Hilfe. Warum nimmst du nicht das Mädchen Großvater irgendwo zu sitzen?" Gilbert called down in a language that Lilith did not understand. The man helping your grandfather called back, "Sehr gut. Gehe helfen Ludwig. Ich bin sicher, er wird nicht wissen, wie man richtig damit umzugehen, sowieso. Komm runter, wenn du mich brauchst. Ich werde sehen, ob ich beruhigen kann Gerald unten genug, um nach oben zu kommen." He escorted your grandfather to a chair in the other room while Gilbert turned and ran up the steps after the other man.

Lilith, unsure of what to do, went down the steps to see if she could assist Gilbert's 'Vater', whatever that was, and her Master in any way. After making sure your grandfather had recovered, Lilith turned towards the other man. Intimidated by the man's daunting size, she mustered her courage and managed to speak a few words. "S-s-sir, i-if I may, Gilbert, on the stairs, h-he said that m-my master's 'ankelin' had fainted? What does that mean?" Lilith flinched a little after she had finished speaking, afraid of how this man would react. But this man's reaction was much kinder that Lilith had expected. "Ah, you mean 'enkelin'. Zhat means 'granddaughter' in English. Somezhing vas vrong vith her corset, und she couldn't breath…uh, oh." But Lilith didn't hear the rest of what the man was saying; she had whipped around and was flying up the stairs after Gilbert and the other man as soon as she'd heard that her master's 'granddaughter' had fainted. _Oh God! It's _! She's the one that everyone is panicking over! If…if she's hurt, or sick, or, or…oh! I don't care what it is if_isharmedinanywayIdon'! _Lilith's panicked thoughts all ran together into an unintelligible stream in her mind as she raced towards where she hoped Gilbert's brother had taken you.

"Find somezhing to cut fabric vith!"

"Like vhat! I don't vanna cut her clothes off! You find somezhing!"

"Verdammit, Gilbert! Ve don't have time for zhis, just start looking around!"

_There!_ Lilith turned and bolted into the room where she could here Gilbert and his brother arguing. "_!_! Oh my God!" Lilith cried, spying you on a couch in the room. You were completely incapacitated, and you felt cold and clammy to the touch. Lilith began shaking your shoulder, trying desperately to wake you up. The first thought that popped into her head was that you were dead, and Lilith's heart almost stopped. But before she could call out to you again, a hand came down hard on Lilith's shoulder, and she yelped in pain as she was abruptly yanked away from you. "Vhat do you zhink you're doing?" Lilith gasped, finding herself under the merciless gaze of a pair of icy blue eyes and a face like stone. Terror ran through her for a moment, but her worry for you gave her a much needed burst of courage. "Let me go!" Lilith cried, pulling away from the man who had grabbed her. First these men come barging into your house without warning and scaring Lilith half to death, then she nearly gets thrown over the railing on the stairs, and now this man, who didn't seem even the least bit concerned about you what-so-ever, thought he was going to just drag her away from you when you clearly needed her? Hell no! "You are going to tell me what happened, and you're going to tell me _now_, before I come over there and beat the story out of you with a broom!" Lilith seethed, looking at the man like she would kill him if she didn't like his answer. However, the man didn't even flinch at Lilith's threat, and his eyes continued to bore into her with a look of absolute contempt.

"Excuse me?" Any bravery Lilith may have had before was suddenly drained from her being at the eerily calm, icy tone that met her ears. The man's attitude stabbed raw terror into her, and as he began slowly walking towards her, she began to shake in fear. What was he going to do to her? Clearly this man was used to being highly respected where ever he went, and such an outright act of disrespect from a lowly servant such as she was not something he dealt with lightly. She was just a maid; no one cared what happened to her except for you. He could do whatever he wanted, and no one would step up or say anything in Lilith defense. Or so she thought.

"Vest, take it easy." Gilbert had been watching the interaction between his brother and Lilith very carefully, since he knew how his brother could get if someone angered him. He stepped towards Lilith and stood slightly in front of her, keeping himself between the terrified girl and his ever advancing brother. "Ve don't need to start any trouble here, understand? Zhis frau is just very vorried about her Herrin, zhat's all." Turning towards Lilith, he said, "Frau, zhis is mien bruder, Ludvig. Don't vorry about him too much, he's just a walking statue for zhe most part. Kesesesesse!" Ludwig stopped walking when Gilbert had placed himself between him and Lilith, but his terrifying gaze never left Lilith's face, and Gilbert's joke about his brother being a statue did nothing to calm her fears.

"Very vell." Ludwig finally dragged his eyes away from Lilith and rested them on his brother. "But if she vants to stay anyvhere near her," Ludwig stated, indicating you laying on the couch, "She had better make herself useful und help us find a pair of scissors." He turned away from the two standing beside your couch and resumed his search around the room. Relieved that Ludwig was no longer interested in her, Lilith reached out and grabbed Gilbert's arm to get his attention. "S-sir?" she whispered, afraid to draw Ludwig's attention towards her again. "Why do we need scissors?" Gilbert turned and blinked at Lilith for a moment. "Vell…" He started to speak, but trailed off, rubbing the back of his head and glancing towards the floor in a bashful manner. "You see, ve had a little problem at lunch today, und zhe frau here" he gestured towards your prostrate form on the couch, "fainted because her corset is too tight. So ve have to find somezhing to….cut it off vith….kesesesesse….." Gilbert laughed half-heartedly in an attempt to hide his nervousness. If it had just been him and his brother here, Gilbert wouldn't have care about taking your clothes off and cutting of your corset. After all, Gilbert was a notorious flirt back home, and he had no qualms about trying to get a girl's clothes off for his own enjoyment. But with Lilith here, he didn't want to seem like some kind of pervert, which vexed him greatly since he normally didn't care what people thought of him. "Oh!" Lilith looked shocked for a moment, before looking away and laughing nervously, "Ahahahahaaaa….why yes, of course! Ahaha, I told her she shouldn't have worn that silly thing but she never listens to me, ahahahaaa!" Gilbert looked at Lilith with a bemused expression on his face. _It's painfully obvious zhat you're zhe reason she vore zhe zhing in zhe first place._ He thought with amusement. Gilbert turned back to the room, which was slowly becoming a mess from his and Ludwig's search, and said," Vell, regardless, zhe avesome me needs you to find a pair of scissors, so vhy don't you go und find some? Ve can keep looking here." Lilith looked at Gilbert with a strange expression on her features. _Did he just call himself 'awesome'? What a strange man…. _Turning around, Lilith rushed over to a closet in the corner of the room and pulled out a small sewing box, which contained a decent sized pair of fabric scissors. "Sir, will these work?" she asked, handing the scissors over. "Ja! Zhese vill do fine! Und you don't have to call me sir, frau. Zhe avesome Gilbert vill suffice. Kesesesesesesesese!" Gilbert snickered as he turned to Ludwig. "Hey Vest! Here are zhe scissors!" Ludwig turned with an exasperated 'finally…..' and retrieved the scissors from Gilbert's outstretched hand. Then he walked over to where you were laying down and carefully grasped the top of the row of buttons adorning the bodice of your gown. Realizing what Ludwig planned on doing, Lilith let out a shocked gasp. "Wait! What do you think you're—Aiieee!" Lilith shriek as Ludwig, without any qualms what-so-ever, promptly ripped the front of your gown open with just his hands, sending little pearly buttons clattering off in every directing. "Gah! Vest, vat zhe hell! You could have varned me before you started stripping her, for Gott's sake!" Gilbert, spluttered, taken aback by his brother's rash actions. He looked over at you in shock, his face turning a dark shade of red at the now visible shrift and corset you were wearing under your dress.

Completely ignoring Lilith and Gilbert's reactions to what he'd just done, Ludwig pulled you upward and slipped the remains of the dress off your shoulders, exposing the back of the corset. Pulling you towards him, Ludwig grabbed the pair of scissors and, with two swift cuts, released the corset from your body and pulled it away from you. Though unconscious, you immediately began gasping, your body involuntarily taking more air into your lungs. Setting the scissors down, Ludwig carefully rested you back onto the couch and stood up, his job done. He wordlessly glanced at Lilith and Gilbert, who were both staring at him with identical looks of horror on their faces. "I'm going down stairs to tell Vater und Mr. Ferris zhat Ms. _ is recovering, und vill be able to see her Großvater soon. Keep an eye on her so zhat nozhing else happens." Ludwig then turned and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

For a moment, neither Lilith nor Gilbert spoke, still in shock at what had just transpired. Gilbert couldn't believe it. He knew his brother didn't know how to properly deal with certain situations, but to just rip off a girl's dress and cut off her corset without any reaction at all? Gilbert sighed, shaking his head. Sometimes, he swore his brother wasn't human. Turning towards Lilith, who was still standing stock still, Gilbert poked her forehead. "Oi, _maid_, how long are you gonna stand zhere like zhat, huh? Snap out of it!" With a few more prods from Gilbert's finger, Lilith slowly came back to earth. Her face immediately morphed into an expression of annoyance and _extreme_ irritation. "Will you _please_ stop poking me!" Lilith snapped, smacking Gilbert's hand away from her face. "And my name is _Lilith, _you twit! What on earth is wrong with you people? Is it normal where you come from to just _violate_ unconscious women like that! Why, if I wasn't a servant here your brother would have a smarting imprint of my hand across his face right now! Really, the _nerve_ of that man…." Lilith was seething with rage as she quickly walked over to you and promptly covered you with a sheet, blocking your some-what exposed body from view.

Gilbert stared at her, regarding her for a moment, before retorting, "Hey now, is zhat any vay to act tovards zhe avesome me who just avesomely saved you from mien bruder?" he asked, referring to when Lilith had smacked his hand. "Und furthermore, he vasn't _violating_ her, he vas trying to help. Who knows how long it vould have taken you to get zhat zhing off of her, vhat, vith you probably vanting us to leave zhe room, zhen carefully taking zhe dress of so she could vear it again, und zhen trying to untie zhe corset so you didn't ruin it…"

Gilbert went on for a while like this for a few minutes, annoying Lilith even more. "Oh, und one more zhing, if I vant to call you _maid, _I vill. I can do vhatever I vant, since I'm clearly more important zhan you anyvay, und no one else is gonna care." Gilbert ended his speech with a smirk. _Let's see vhat zhe frau has to say about zhat! Kesesesesse!_ Lilith's reply, however, was not what Gilbert had expected. She looked at him, with sudden hurt in her eyes. "Oh really? Is that how you feel? What happened to the man who helped me up on the stairs and stood up for me in front of his brother, hm? I guess he only comes around when he thinks he can make a good impression on a lady!" Lilith swiftly turned her back on Gilbert, attempting not to cry. She didn't know why, but for some reason it bothered her _immensely _that this man only saw her as a mere servant, an expendable soul that didn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

Gilbert blinked at Lilith again, suddenly bothered that he'd hurt her feelings. _Vait, vhy zhe hell do I care how she feels? I am zhe avesome Gilbert! I don't care about anyone besides mienself!_ But the feeling of guilt didn't go away, and Gilbert felt very uncomfortable in this situation. "Look, uh, Lilith? Uh…ah…e-es tut mir leid..." He muttered quietly, secretly hoping she hadn't heard him. "What was that?" Lilith asked, her back still turned. _Verdammit….._ "I said _es tut mir leid_." Gilbert repeated himself, this time with more volume. Lilith however, did not understand German, and was still a little hurt by what Gilbert had said before. "I'm sorry, you'll have to speak English. My poor salary has prevented me from receiving a decent education, and my impudent lower class brain cannot comprehend your higher form of comunica-" "I said I'm sorry, verdammit!" Gilbert snapped, annoyed that a common house maid had pushed him into an apology in the first place. Taken aback by Gilbert's reply, Lilith turned around and looked at him in surprise. "R-really…?" Lilith was confused. Gilbert had no reason to apologize to her. Although his comment had been quite rude, he was under no obligation to apologize to her, since she was of a lower status than he was. This man continued to vex her with each passing minute. "Well…..well then…then you are forgiven, sir." Lilith replied, looking away so Gilbert didn't see her face. "Jeez frau, why are you so formal all zhe time? Just call me Gilbert, I don't really care if you call me sir or not. It's a little annoying, actually, since everyone calls me zhat back home anyvay. It's nice to hear mien name every once in a vhile." Gilbert smirked, glad that the argument was over. _Man, vhat's vith zhis girl? She's so vierd, going from confused to scared to angry to confused again…talk about bi-polar…but she's not too bad, for a maid_…_kesesesesese!_

_-_End of flashback (FINALLY)-

"…and after that we both just sat here and talked a little, and then you woke up, and here we are!" Lilith ended her story cheerfully. You looked at her quietly for a moment, your expression unreadable. Lilith looked at you, confused at your silence. "_? Are you alright?" You slowly turned and looked Lilith dead in the eye, your reply laced with an incredulous undertone, "Alright? Alright!" Your pitch suddenly shot up 2 octaves, "You think I'm alright after you tell me that some stranger I just met practically stripped me in front of you and his brother!" Your expression was wild and your face was red with embarrassment. How had this happened! All this because your grandfather just _had_ to take you to lunch today, and you just _had_ to dress up, and Lilith said you just _had _to wear a corset-

Your gaze suddenly speared Lilith with an icy glare. "You…." You seethed. Lilith jumped a little, startled at your tone. "W-what? What's wrong, _?" She blinked in confusion. "This is all YOUR FAULT!" You wailed at her, the reality of it all dawning on you like the sun at daybreak. "What..? What do you mean it's my fault!" Lilith looked at you, surprised by the sudden 180 degree turn of your mood. You riveted your entire body towards her, shock and utter horror marring your features. "_You're_ the one who insisted I wear a corset to lunch today! _You're _the one who said that I had to wear it, that it would be unacceptable if I didn't! None of this would have happened if I hadn't fainted at lunch today, and that wouldn't have happened if I hadn't worn that damn corset! So it's _your_ fault!" Your face was redder than the Spanish tomatoes your grandfather had imported to plant in the gardens out back (Spain reference XD), and you whirled around, launching yourself face-first into the pillows on the couch and throwing the sheet over your head in embarrassment! Lilith tried miserably to reassure you. "_-_! It's alright, really! I'm sure no one here enjoyed seeing you like tha—"

" So you're saying I'm ugly!" You cried out in horror, "Oh, I _knew_ it! I always felt I wasn't very pretty! And now some total stranger got to see just how hideous I look!" Your pitiful wail of despair was muffled by the pillows you were currently burrowing your head into in an attempt to disappear from the world. Lilith, feeling bad that you'd taken her words the wrong way, carefully began rubbing your back in a comforting way and you moaned quietly into the pillows. "_, that's not what I meant. You are a very charming young woman, and you are in no way ugly, hideous, or remotely unpleasant to look at. Now, will you _please_ stop rubbing your face all over those pillows? I don't want to have to wash all your makeup smudges off of them!" You slowly raised your head, your makeup completely ruined and the pillows covered in various smudges of black, pink, white, and grey. "Then what _did_ you mean when you said no one enjoyed seeing me like that?" You asked Lilith reproachfully. She sighed, looking at the condition of your face, and proceeded to retrieve a handkerchief from her apron to clean you up with. Handing it to you, she replied, "I meant that neither of those two men were _perverse_ enough to 'enjoy the view', as it were. And in all honestly, it's not like you were laying there in your undergarments. The white shrift your wearing covered everything up, so it really only appeared as though you were wearing an evening gown." You handed the handkerchief back to Lilith, satisfied that your face was now presentable. _Well, I guess things aren't as bad as I made them out to be._ You thought with some relief. But you still weren't happy that _that man, _Ludwig, had seen that much of you in the first place. Quite frankly, you wished he hadn't seen you at all. You sighed, somewhat exhausted by your resent outburst.

Lilith suddenly spoke up, her tone serious, "_, there's something else I need to tell you." Lilith's face told you that what she was about to say was very important. "Your grandfather is not doing well. I believe the stress of all that had happened has affected him adversely, and you should go see him as soon as you are presentable."

Your eyes widen in shock. _What? There's something wrong with grandfather? Oh no…no! This is terrible! _Your grandfather had a heart condition that could flare up if he got too excited, and there were various health hazards that could occur if it did. "Lilith! Why didn't you tell me sooner! I need to see him right away!" You were about to get up and flee the room, but Lilith stopped you. "I'm sure he's fine, _. But before you see him you _must_ get dressed." Moaning slightly that you couldn't go see your grandfather right away, you hurriedly went to a closet in the room, rooting through it to find something presentable that you could put on quickly.

_Please be alright, grandfather! You're all I have left!_


	4. Chapter 4

Define 'Proper'

A GermanyXReader Fic

"_Lilith! Why didn't you tell me sooner!? I need to see him right away!" You were about to get up and flee the room, but Lilith stopped you. "I'm sure he's fine, _. But before you see him you must get dressed." Moaning slightly that you couldn't go see your grandfather right away, you hurriedly went to a closet in the room, rooting through it to find something presentable that you could put on quickly. Please be alright, grandfather! You're all I have left!_

Having nothing presentable to wear in the room you were in, and paired with the fact that Ludwig had _completely_ ruined your dress (not that that was a big deal-you hated the thing anyway *fist pump*), Lilith had to run and grab a robe of sorts for you to slip on before you could see your grandfather. This irked you greatly since you had to sit and wait for her to hurry up and return, allowing your mind to jump to the worst possible places imaginable involving your grandfather. Suffice to say when Lilith _finally_ returned (she was only gone 3 minutes -_-) you were a nervous wreck. "_, calm down. I just saw The Master a few minutes before you woke up, and he's fine. Just a little shaken up is all." Lilith calmly helped you put your robe on, since you were moving so quickly you were putting your arms in the wrong sleeves. "Look, I just need to see him, ok? It's not that I don't believe you, I just can't calm down until I see that he's ok myself." Your reply was a little curt, but Lilith chose to ignore it on account of your current mood. As soon as you had your sleeves sorted out, you ran from the room towards the staircase, tying your robe as you went. Lilith hurried after you, afraid that you might trip and fall down the stairs at the pace you were going. "_! Hey! W-wait for me!" Lilith cried out as she followed you down the stairs. The fact that she had on heels and you were barefoot (Lilith had removed your shoes before you'd woken up) made it increasingly difficult for her to keep up with you. You, however, completely ignored Lilith's pleas as you began looking for your grandfather. Assuming that someone had taken your grandfather to the sitting room, you flew through an entryway to your left and ran on, your feet making soft padding noises as you went. You could hear Lilith's heels clicking behind you, but you didn't stop to wait for her. Your only concern was finding your grandfather and making sure he was ok.

Finally reaching the double doors leading to the sitting room, you paused to get your breath back from running down the hallway. Sometimes, you wished your house wasn't so big. After your gasps had died down a bit, you found that you could hear muffled voices through the door way.

"Seriously, Vest. You really didn't have to rip her dress open like zhat. If she finds out, she's gonna kill you. Kesesesese!"

That laugh could only have come from one person; Gilbert. Sighing, you moved to look elsewhere, assuming that no one would be stupid enough to place your ailing grandfather and Gilbert in the same room, when another voice spoke up. This one was deeper and a bit gravelly, and it commanded full attention, causing you to stop your movement and listen.

"You did vhat!? Ludvig, zhat is completely unacceptable! Vhat vere you zhinking!?" The fuming voice of Victor carried through the door, his volume making his words clearer than Gilbert's. _Ok, so Gilbert and Victor are definitely in here. And I'm assuming Ludwig is too, since they both seem to be talking to him._

Another voice spoke up, and the deep baritone nature of it coupled with a smooth, clear tone confirmed your suspicions that Ludwig was also in the room.

"Zhe situation needed to be dealt vith in a time efficient manner. Ve are only here for a day or so to get some vork done und zhats it. Ve don't have time to vaste catering to Mr. Cartel's granddaughter. Zhis is a business trip, nozhing more. Zhe more time ve spent dealing vith her und her issues zhe less time you, Vater, have to do vhat you came here to do."

_Well, excuse _me_ for being such a bother!_ You thought indignantly upon hearing Ludwig's words. You didn't ask them to help you. If they hadn't shown up you probably would've been home before the corset could have affected you anyway! But they really weren't at fault for that. They probably didn't even know you would be at lunch just like you didn't know that they would be showing up. And you weren't mad at Victor at all. He was genuinely concerned about your wellbeing, and you were glad he had taken control of the situation at the restaurant when your grandfather was unable to do so. And Gilbert wasn't all _that_ bad. Your somewhat soiled opinion of Gilbert had changed for the better when Lilith told you how he'd been kind enough to help her on the stairs, and that he'd apologized for insulting her. But his few redeeming qualities didn't mask the fact that Gilbert acted like he was the next best thing since sliced bread! (lolz idk XD)

In reality, the only one of the trio who _truly_ got on your nerves was Ludwig. And you weren't really sure why. You hadn't even had time to actually get to know him, and the most you two had talked was when he'd introduced himself and when he'd asked about your situation at lunch. So you didn't really have a decent reason to dislike him except for the fact that he kinda stripped you down without a single thought about it. He acted like he did that kind of thing all the time, which you sincerely hoped wasn't the case. No matter how aggravating Ludwig's demeanor may be, even _he _wouldn't be that uncouth, right?

Back to the matter at hand though, it seemed pretty obvious that your grandfather wasn't in the room with them. There's no way they would be talking about you like that if he was. Leaning away from the door, you turned and started walking down the hall, carefully listening for any signs of your grandfather's presence. Suddenly you heard the sharp tapping of Lilith's heels on the wooden floor of the hallway as she finally caught up to you. Reaching your side, she leaned up against the wall, trying to catch her breathe. Running in heels is hard work, you know.

"*Huff* *huff* _...*huff* _must_ you go running off like that all the time?" Lilith gasped out her question, and you couldn't help but smile at her and roll your eyes at her flimsy physic. "I don't run off _all_ the time, Lilith." You replied, resuming your search for your grandfather. "Yes you do!" Lilith retorted, her tone almost at a whine. Seeing that you'd started walking away again, Lilith called out to you. "_! Where are you going?" You stopped and huffed at Lilith's ignorance, rolling your eye's skyward as if to ask 'Why me?' Turning around to face her, you threw your arms out at your sides in a gesture of helplessness. "I'm looking for my grandfather, obviously!" You exclaimed, giving Lilith an incredulous look. Honestly, what else could she think you were doing? Whirling around you began stalking off in the direction you were previously headed, when Lilith stopped you yet again. "You know you're going the wrong way, right?"

-Meanwhile, back with the German man candy *SHOT*-

He couldn't understand it. He simple could _not _understand it. Was it really possible that he was the only sane person in this entire house? Ludwig sat in his armchair, giving his father and brother his best I-know-I'm-right face, which wasn't very different than his usual expression. He was currently having an "argument" with his father and brother about how he'd handled the situation with you, though it wasn't _really _an argument since Ludwig knew he would win. He always won when it came to Gilbert, and he was pretty good at getting his father on his side, so why should now be any different?

Oh, right. This time it wasn't paper work, or money, or other business objectives that the argument sourced from. It was from you. This time a _girl_ was involved. _Obviously_ this was a very, very serious matter and must not be taken lightly.

Now, you can't be too hard on Ludwig for thinking this way. One must keep in mind that most of Ludwig's life he hadn't really socialized much with people, especially girls, since most business matters were taken care of by men. So he was clearly lacking in the proper courses of action when it involved women. The best he could do was deliver a polite greeting, which he was quite adept at doing. (He was. Don't lie to yourselves you loved his introduction XD). The next course of action usually involved the women being dismissed to their own devices while the men did their work. Never had Ludwig been in a situation such as the one you had caused today. And to be honest, Ludwig thought he'd handled it quite well. He did what he always does when presented with a dilemma; he assessed the situation, sorted through his options, picked the best one, and executed it accordingly. And everything had gone exactly as Ludwig had planned. You were brought home, and he took upon the task of removing your corset himself, seeing as everyone else would've been _careful _and _delicate _and, most annoyingly, _slow _about it. Ludwig didn't have time for that. He had far too much to do and a set schedule to do it all in. And you fainting at lunch had already set his plan for the day back by at _least_ 10 minutes, which was unacceptable. His way of dealing with the situation cut about 5 minutes off the time it would've taken everyone else to deal with you, and since every minute counted, Ludwig didn't see a problem. But just because _he _didn't see a problem didn't mean that others wouldn't see any for themselves.

"Ludvig, zhis is serious." His father addressed him in a serious tone. "I know zhat ve have business to attend to here, but you forget zhat Gerald is an old friend of mine. I do not vish to upset him by telling him zhat a man, one of mein own sons no less, practically stripped his enkelin of her clothes! Und furzhermore, you damaged zhat dress a point of disrepair, und I can tell you just by looking at it zhat is vas not some cheap gown for a common pauper! I am not looking forvard to replacing it." His father covered his face with his hand, sighing in frustration. Again, Ludwig could not see where the issue was. "Vater, you have plenty of money to replace her outfit, und to be honest I don't zhink she enjoyed vearing it anyvay. She vas fidgeting in her seat most of zhe meal like she vas uncomfortable, so I doubt zhat zhe dress vill be much of a problem. Und I'm sure Mr. Mandalin vill be fine vith everyzhing once zhe entire situation is explained to him." Victor removed his hand from his face and gave Ludwig a hard look. Staring into his son's cool, unwavering gaze and eerily blank face, he was reminded of why Ludwig acted the way he did. After all, it was he who'd caused Ludwig's repressive demeanor in the first place. One of the side-effects of Ludwig's upbringing was that he wasn't in tune with casual social norms, but when it came to business; _that_ was where Ludwig excelled. Victor had never seen someone so capable in professional situations, and a small twinge of pride echoed within him. He could overlook Ludwig's rather frank actions today, since Ludwig had sacrificed much of his means of a social life for his father. His attention turned from his youngest son, however, when Gilbert decided to speak up.

"Tch. You really don't get it, do you, Vest?" Gilbert closed his eyes and shook his head dismally. "Zhis is vhy, out of zhe two of us, I'm going to be zhe one with zhe happy Gattin und kinder, vhile you get to be a crotchety old Scrooge zhe rest of your life!" Gilbert said the last part of his statement coldly, and he gave a sideways glance at his father. The action did not go unnoticed by Victor, who shot his eldest son a sharp glare. Angered by the direction the conversation was going and by the look he received from his father, Gilbert abruptly stood up and rigidly faced his family. "Was auch immer! I don't have time to have zhis kind of conversation vith eizher of you, since I know it von't go anyvhere." Gilbert turned and began stalking out of the room, but not before his father called after him, "Gilbert! Vhere do you zhink you're going!?" Victor's voice was harsh, and demanded a proper answer from his son. But all Gilbert replied was, "Somevhere more suited for zhe afesome me!" And with that, he slammed the door behind him, creating a rather impressive 'BANG!' that reverberated through the echoing halls of your home and left the poor door rattling in its hinges.


End file.
